Clothesline-reel



J. SARDO.

CLOTHESLINE REEL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14. 1920.

Patented Sept. 14, 1920.

JACOB SARDO, or JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

CLOTHESLINE-REEL.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented Step1]. 14, 1920,

Application filed February 14, 1920.. Serial No. 358,694.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAooB SAnno, a citizen of the United States, residing at J ohnstown, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothesline- Reels, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to clothes line reels, and especially to that class of reels employed for supporting a clothes line in an elevated position where the clothes have to be reeled out on the line from a given point (usually one end of the line) when they are put out for drying, and then reeled back again to the same point when they are dry andready to be taken off the line.

The object is to'provide a reel which will I easily retain the line thereon without undue tension on the line, and one which will permit variations in the tension of the line, working well whether the line he taut or slack.

A leading feature of the invention consists of a plurality of hooks having comparatively long shanks loosely pivoted at their upper ends around theperiphery'of .a vertical drum, around which shanks the clothes line is received upon the drum between thenpper and lower ends of said hooks. v

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement "of parts as will be hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, and in which Figure -l is a view illustrating my device in use.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing, the

clothes line in operative position on the device. 1' v Fig. 3 is a view partly in section, showing the method of securing the axle of the drum to the frame upon which it is supported; and,

Fig. 4: is a View showing the device in side elevation without the line.

Referring further to the drawings by numerals, the supporting frame of the device consists of a vertical bar 1, and a horizontal bar 2, securely held approximately at right angles to each other by a brace 3. A drum t-is s'upported in a vertical'position on an axle 5, which is provided with a reduced upper end 5 extending up through the horizontal bar 2 and the end 3" of the brace 8. The reduced upper end 5 of the axle is threaded to receive thereupon a nut 6. A shoulder 7 is formed at the junction ofthe reduced portion 5? with the main portion of the axle; and the horizontal bar Q'and the end 3 of the brace are clamped in rigid engagement with each other between said shoulder and the nut 6.

This arrangement also serves to hold the axle 5 rigid on the frame of the device.

The drum 4 is provided with annular flanges 8 and 9, at its upper and lower ends respectively. The axle 5 is provided at its lower end with a reduced portion 5 upon which isreceived a washer lOheld in position by a pin 11 which'passes through a suitable opening in said reduced portion, and

this washerlO supports the drum 4.011 the axle 5.

Attention is now calledto a very'important feature of my device,namely, the hooks 12which areloosely pivoted at their upper ends around the periphery of the drum 4 near the upperend of said drum, and are 7 preferably spaced equidistant from each other. These hooks naturally tend to hang in a vertical position by gravity with their lower curved ends 12 slightly above the lower flange 9 .of the drum.

The clothes line, passes like a 'beltfor end I less carrier around that'portion of the drum which is occupied by the hooks 12, so thatthe hooks are between the line and thedrum and thereby partially prevent the line from. coming into direct frictional engagement withthe surface of the drum.

Any desired number of these hooksmay be employed.

In the operation of the device, two'of' the drums 4 are'usually' employed-one at each end offthe line or "endless carrier. (Of

course, more than two'dr'ums can be employed if desired, since the line surrounds them like. a belt.) V

The frame of the device is secured to the wall or] other support therefor by means of bolts or screws 13 (Fig. 2) which pass through the vertical bar 1 of the frame into the wall. The clothes line 14 extends like a belt from one drum to the other, and as the clothes are placed, piece by piece, on

' the line and secured in the usual manner,

the vacant portion of the line is successively drawn up step by step by a pull thereupon by the hand of the operator. As the hooks 12 are in frictional engagement with theline, the pull upon the line will cause the lower free ends of the hooks to swing in the direction of the pull especially at the sid es'of the drum as they successively faceat right angles to the longitudinal extent of the line. And as the hooks swing in this direction (as illustrated in Fig. 2) their outwardly curved lower ends which are necessarily in engagement with the line or the clothes thereupon, move upwardly a certain distance, and thus lift the line on the drum to that extent and keep it'from moving down into engagement with the flange 9 at the lower end of the drum. Of course, if the line be very tight, the flange 9 would keep it on the drum anyhow, but by the employment of the hooks 12, the line is easily kept on the drum without being very tight, which is a matte-r of great advantage, since the line has to be reeled around these drums not only in putting the clothes on the line when the line necessarily becomes wet, but also when the clothes are taken off the line when the line is dry and somewhat lengthened out from what it was when it was wet. That is to say ;The nature of theservice required of the line is such that it unavoidably causes the-dine to varyin length at different times; so that if when it is dry it is made tight enough to hold it safely on the drums by means of the flanges 9, it will be too tight when the line is madewet and draws up or contracts in length, so that'it will in that case impose undue straln upon the hue, and upon the entlre device, and thereby sometimes causes the line to break when the weight of a washing of wet clothes is imposed thereupon in addition to the strain nnposed by the contractlon of the line.

It should also be taken into consideration I that in lines of this class upon which the clothes are reeled in and out, the lines often extend across a yard from a point ad acent a second-story w1ndow-z. 6., comparatlvely high upfrom the ground-so that a break the clothes thereupon and swing down by,

gravity to their lowest position ready to l presently rengage the line and slightly lift the same on the drum again as before.

If four or more of the hooks12 are employed, there will always be at least two of the hooks on approximately opposite sides of the drum in lifting engagement with the line.

Fig. 4 shows the normal position which the hooks always tend to assume when left free from the influence of the line; and, Fig. 8 as described shows -howthe axle 5 is held as rigid on the frame as if it were integral therewith.

Inasmuch as the hooks 12 hold the clothes line spaced from the drum, the clothes pins in passing around the drum will usually come between the hooks and thus pass around the drum much more easily than if only plain drums with broad bottom flanges were used.

having their lower ends free and turned outwardly.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

' V JACOB SARDO.

This feature is here referred to because with my device the clothes are in-. tended to be reeled around the drums so as 

